


everything we want comes with a price

by Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell



Series: the dreamlands [4]
Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: and yes it's a coraline au, but someone's still getting ruined, finally a fic with the kids where i'm not ruining jace, most of these are ocs, nico has a Big Gay Crush on venus, nico is a masculine aligned nonbinary, nico uses he and they pronouns, which means the other mother appears
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2018-12-04 13:38:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 19,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11556318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell/pseuds/Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell
Summary: nico was so, so bored.stel was busy with magic all the time. jace had cheerleading and magic of her own to understand. milo liked plays and sometimes nico would help with one, but milo's friends never needed nico that much. they liked playing with annie, but annie was often being tutored or off with her school friend. venus didn't have his own dimensional scissors so he couldn't visit as often as nico wanted him too.maybe that was why they found the locked door. they picked the lock and found a bricked wall. but starting that night, nothing was boring anymore. everything was exciting and wonderful.too bad it didn't last.





	1. prologue

Everyone was too busy for me.

Everyone was always too busy when I wanted to do something.

Mom and Dad always had royal things going on- there was always going to be another political crisis that they needed to handle. Out of the main ruling families that were Mewman-aligned they _were_ the most capable- there were the Mewman Queens Janna and Star, but they decided everything could be solved with either fighting, corn or necromancy; there was Queen Ponyhead, but she was always at the New Bounce Lounge, and then there was Star's family on her patriarchal side, the Johhansons. They acted like everything was a battle to the death.

So it made sense that they would usually be off handling something. It didn't stop me from wanting to see them. And even though I couldn't see them I could always hide a prank or two around the throne room so that someone- never a visiting royal- would set it off.

Estella had a jam-packed schedule- martial arts with mom when she could manage it, some college level homework at mom's insistence, magical homework from Janna, and doing demonic magic when she learned a new spell.

Jace was in her senior year of high school, and she was Cheer Captain now. She was always practicing some routine or preparing for graduation. It didn't help that I was too loud for her- she didn't like doing pranks with me that were often chaotic and full of screaming. It hurt her ears.

When Milo wasn't busy he was pretty fun to hang out with. He didn't like playing pranks either, but at least he and I had a mutual interest- plays. Milo had gotten me into them when I was younger. I had been five, only there for a few months, and I didn't really trust anyone. I didn't know how long the seemingly nice situation I was in would last. I had a Dad now who would talk to me and look at me, and a Mom who was actually there, who read me bedtime stories. But I didn't know how long it would be before they didn't want me, so I pushed them away when they tried to hug me and I worked my hardest not to get involved.

I was five years old, but I had seen a lot of tough things.

Milo hadn't tried to hug me or anything like that. He was seven years old and right across the hall from me, and when I had a nightmare he would come in and wake me up. He had a black book that seemed enormous in my five year old mind, making me wonder how he could possibly carry it around.

He would read to me, pitching his voice high or low as best as he could, depending on what character he was speaking for.

And he read to me whenever I asked him to, whether I was ten and grounded in my room and bored, or thirteen and so nervous to try and ask Venus on a date, or fifteen and working on Julius Cesar homework.

So when I was bored and he wasn't busy I would sprawl on his floor and close my eyes and listen to him read Macbeth for the thousandth time. Or sometimes he needed a fill in for a part in a play, and I would gladly jump in and act the part. Sometimes I helped as a stage hand.

But more often than not he didn't need my help. Milo was really popular with the kids in school and had a whole group in theater with him. It was pretty rare that there were enough people unavailable he would need his sibling.

Annie was a lot of fun. When she wasn't in school or hanging out with her friend- I could never remember his name- we raced around the castle together and played tricks on people, setting off firecrackers in abandoned rooms and sliding down banisters.

Venus was also a lot of fun to hang out with. Outside of my family he was my best friend, and someone I had a really bad crush on- even though I could never find the right words to tell him. He was steady and dependable. When I was in trouble, I would text him and complain and he would sympathize with me- and remind me that I deserved to be grounded for setting off firecrackers on the school's football field. 

When there were thunderstorms and I was trying so damn hard not to be scared and failing I would send him a text and he'd borrow a pair of scissors from his mom and appear within a few minutes, setting up a blanket fort.

Sometimes I would call him for just a few minutes and we would stay up till a ridiculous hour on the phone, just talking about our day.

He couldn't come over as often as I wanted him too. He had Prince things he had to do- plus, science experiments. Those were always a lot of fun to hear him talk about.

I ended up getting sick and tired of plotting pranks on my own. There were only so many firecrackers you could light off, so many gag things to use before it got boring.

So, after I had exhausted every single option and there was a day no one else was available, I decided to use my lock picks and go exploring the castle.

And _that_ is where our story starts.

 


	2. One

Time moved differently in the Other World, in ways you couldn't explain well. It flashed past and dragged on for eternity. It was gone in the blink of an eye; then again, it took centuries to blink.

So the Beldam didn't know how long she had been starving in the darkness for before the door was Activated. There was a child there- children were the best- and the Beldam stirred and examined the child.

Through the warped vision of the door opening, the beldam notices blonde hair and purple eyes. Thick lines were drawn on their face in eyeliner, and they wore a pair of devil horns on their head.

The beldam turned to her work station, carefully selecting a pale skin-toned material, looking for yellow yarn.

The child frowned at what appeared to be a bricked-over wall and turned, dragging the door shut. The beldam didn't hear the telltale catch of the door locking again.

She smiled.

Soon she wouldn't be hungry any more.

* * *

 

Unbeknownst to the beldam, other things had woken.

Things that weren't under her control.

In a room hidden behind a large mirrorlike wall, glimmering lights flickered into existence.

Ghosts weren't unusual in the Underworld, but _these_ ghosts were. Memories faded, names forgotten, only barely hanging on to existence, the children stared at each other sadly.

A human, an insect-like mewman girl (most likely someone who had never transitioned out of mewberty form), a demon, and a half-pixie. None of them looked the same, but all of them shared one distinguished feature.

All of them shared buttons for eyes.

"So, she's chosen another victim." The demon child spat out, voice rising and lowering in a growl.

"Shh!" Said the pixie child, hands fluttering around nervously."You never know when the beldam is listening."

The human child glanced at the walls, shaking her head dismissively.

"The beldam hasn't listened in on us for centuries." She whispered. "Why would she now?"

The mewman's eyes drooped dejectedly, four of her six arms hugging her ribs, the other two arms hanging limply. "She doesn't love us, after all."

"That's not the point!" The demon child said, though hurt shone through their words. "The point is the door is anchored again. She's chosen a victim, we _saw_ them. We can't leave anyone else to the fate we share."

The meberty child looked up, her hands twisting. " _How_ so you suggest we do that? We can't _do_ anything, we can't even _remember-"_

"This is the underworld." said the pixie, his head tilting. "we can _do_ things here."

"Its a terrible unlife to have." Agreed the human, buttons glowing whiter in the darkness. "We have to _try."_

* * *

 

Why would a door even be here if there were _bricks_ behind it? it didn't make any sense.

"Prince! What are you doing in here!?"

I turned around, stuffing my arms behind my back as fast as i could, hoping that the servant hadn't seen my lock picking set. It was supposed to be confiscated by my Dad, but a quick bobby-pin break in had fixed that.

"I was exploring." I said with my "I'm-planning-something" smile. I noticed the servant glance around, clearly trying to spot any fireworks or prank things. There were none to be found so the servant came further into the room, heading straight for the blinds to pull them open.

"Miss?" I said as kindly as I could. "Why is this door even here if behind it is blocked off?"

The servant woman looked at the door, looking alarmed. After a few slow moments the odd look in her eyes faded, replaced by a normal expression.

"Sometimes we brick off areas where the boxes of Lost Souls are stored." She answered lightly. "Some of the demons are stronger and more worrisome than us, so we trap them. It's nothing to worry about."

Nothing to worry about also meant nothing interesting. I nodded and pushed the door shut, nodding to her as I left the room. I was certain that she was going to check thoroughly for pranks, and felt momentarily guilty I hadn't thought to bring some firecrackers or something.

Then I shrugged and continued on my way. Maybe someone would be available to hang out.

 

 


	3. Two

The ghost children, for the first time in no one knew how long, were outside the reach of the Beldam.

 

They could materialize out of the other dimension for short periods of time, but there had been no real reason to. Now they had a reason. Now there was a child, a child like them, in need of saving.

 

The child was sitting by the bricked door when the children appeared. Out here they weren't strong enough to manifest, but they could still be heard, which was more than they had had for eons.

 

“Princeling!” The mewman spoke up, making the child's head shoot up.

 

The ghost children were all talking over one another, trying to get the message out or have their voice be heard, none of them were certain.

 

“ _Danger, danger!”_ Growled the demon child, and the pixie child overlapped with them.

 

“ _Stay away from the door!”_

 

Finally, the human ghost joined them.

 

“ _Beware!”_

 

The human child looked around the room but apparently shook it off, muttering,

 

“Must be those boxes the servant girl talked about.”

 

“ _NO-”_ Began the demon child, but then they were all ripped back through to the Other World. Their forms came back, barely flickering and hardly able to speak.

 

“I hope...” Began the mewman child, before her voice dissolved into meaningless whispers.

 

But all the ghost children knew what the mewman child had wanted to say.

 

_I hope the child takes our warning seriously._

 

 

The sudden whirlwind of voices fading in and then out had been odd, but I _lived_ in the Underworld. Things like that happened here sometimes, and the meaningless whispers of ghosts had been a melody to my dreams some nights.

 

I was rigging up firecrackers in multiple parts of the castle, lining the fuses along the ceiling. It wouldn't do any damage, but it would give a couple of people a quick scare.

 

After all I _had_ to make up for the lack of pranks yesterday. I had a reputation to maintain.

 

Climbing onto a chair with my firecrackers, I moved to the dresser precariously to be sure it would work alright. I nearly lost my footing once or twice, but managed to stay on top of the dresser long enough to get the firecracker fixed down.

 

When I jumped off I didn't land quite right and ended up flat on my face, winded, staring under the dresser. And then I saw the oddest thing.

 

It was me.

 

More accurately, it was a mini me. A rag doll with purple button eyes and yellow yarn and the tiniest red headband. It had my plain green shirt on and a pair of jeans, and it had a smile stitched on its face that almost mirrored mine when I had thought up a good prank.

 

I knew I was fourteen, too old for dolls by people's standards, but the little me was equal parts unnerving and charming. I felt almost drawn to the toy, which made me feel a bit ridiculous, but I scooped it up under my arm anyways.

 

“ C 'mon, mini me.” I muttered, leaving the room , only glancing up once to check that the firecracker fuse was twined with the longer fuse I had rigged up.

 

 

“Nico, you _can't_ keep doing this.”

 

Mom collapsed into her throne, rubbing her temples. For a moment I felt guilty, then ridiculously smug. My firecracker prank had played off beautifully, setting off loud simultaneous _pops_ in at least a dozen different rooms. I was sure there had been plenty of people complaining to her. Even better, I had Mom's attention, at least for a few minutes.

 

“Mom, you have to admit it was _awesome._ I saw the look on Grandpa's face.”

 

This brought on a _look_ from Mom and I fell silent. Even though I had wanted to do this prank just so she would pay attention to me, I was now wondering if it would be best to jump out a window again. Mom must have thought about that ahead of time, because the lone window was locked.

 

 

“It was _immature._ ” She said. “And reckless. What if those had gone off in your grandmother's face? She could have been blinded. Or what if one of our allies had been visiting? You _know_ the Empress of Pixtopia makes more and more excuses to visit these days, because of Jace's... whatever she is, with Prince Arrog.”

 

“I specifically targeted the rooms that Grandma doesn't go in.” I replied. “And why do you think I did it today? I knew no one would be coming for a visit. I'm not _stupid,_ you know.”

 

“ Just because you think of a couple of possibilities doesn't mean it was anything but out of line.” Mom said sternly. “You scared a few of the servants witless, and Jace nearly knocked herself out on accident.”

 

“I'll apologize to them.” I said immediately, smiling. “And consider it a success.”

 

“ _Nico Harper-”_ began Mom.

 

A servant came in the room and Mom's attitude immediately changed from the “ _I am so dissapointed in you”_ mother to _I can handle anything you throw at me_ Queen.

 

“The Queens of Mewni are here-” began the servant, and I immediately whirled around, grinning.

 

“Do they have their son with them?” I asked.

 

The servant shook his head and my shoulders slumped.

 

“He passes along his greetings and apologizes- working on a science project.” Said Janna with a knowing smile, ruffling my hair as she walked in.

 

I leaned into her touch a little, then gave her a hug. It seemed like everyone knew I had it bad except for Venus himself. Star was next, pulling me into the kind of rib-crushing hugs she always gave, grinning at me.

 

“You sure you don't want to try something new out?” She asked, flicking at my demon horns. “I have some cactus headgear if you want.”

 

“No, I like my horns.” I told her, smiling.

 

“Thought so. They're a good choice.” Star said, and I laughed.

  
“You gave them to me!”  
  
“Thats why they're a good choice.” She told me, trying hard to keep a straight face and failing. “Now, you should go find something to do, 'cause we have to kidnap your Mom for a little while. I'll tell Venus you missed him today.”

 

“Thank you.” I mumbled, ducking my head as I left so no one would see how red I was. I heard my mom laugh in the background, not fooled at all.

 

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. No one had commented on the doll I was carrying around, though I had seen a few strange looks. I didn't care. I got plenty of those already.

 

Jace had been locked in her room all day, and when I passed by once I heard music blasting, louder than she liked anything to be. It must have been a bad day for her.

 

Stel had high-fived me for my firecracker prank before giving me a “proper” big sister scolding, which mainly involved her trying to be stern and failing.

 

I hadn't seen Milo until late because he was putting on a play- I couldn't remember which one he was doing now, only that he was just as excited as ever.

 

Annie and I watched movies together until she had gone to bed.

 

I had been awake for nearly twenty-nine hours now and I was _exhausted._

 

Sitting at the kitchen table and scrolling my facebook, I found my eyelids dropping-

 

and then there was the squeak of a mouse.

 

_Mouse?_ We didn't have mice in the castle. Mom said she had bad memories linked to mice and rats. 

 

I sat up and watched it for a moment, then leapt up when it ran. I wanted to find out where the nest was that people hadn't found yet. In the back of my mind I realized there was something odd about the mouse, but I raced up the stairs after it anyways.

 

It stopped in front of the supposedly bricked off door and I put together what seemed off. It had buttons for eyes.

 

It scrabbled under the door and I flung it open, wanting to get a closer look at the now trapped mouse-

 

only it wasn't trapped.

 

In front of me, a long tunnel unfurled, shimmering blue and purple and green. 

 

_I **have** to see this. _ I thought, getting down on my hands and knees. Crawling through the tunnel was an adventure- it was springy and tossed me back and forth, and I got the feeling a bigger person wouldn't have been able to go through. 

 

I crawled out... into the same room.

 

No, not quite the same. The rug on the floor was a little deeper, the classic portrait that had been on the wall looked a bit different- almost more sinister. 

 

And as I wandered down the hall, all the lights were on. Odd. It was nearly two in the morning- I was the only one who was usually up at this time of night, unless Jace had had a nightmare. Wondering if that was the case, I wandered towards the kitchen, ready to hang out and have hot chocolate with cinnamon with Jace.

 

“Mom?” I asked, surprised. She was standing there in the red dress she had worn today, and had one oven mitt on. Mom only ever used the kitchen to make nachos when she had nothing going on- which was almost never. “What are you doing here in the middle of the ni-”

 

I yelped because when she turned around it wasn't  _my_ mom. 

 

She looked like my mom. She had the same high ponytail, the same mole on her cheek, the same color skin.   
  
“Nico, you're just in time for dinner!” She exclaimed, carrying the plate of nachos to the table. 

 

“You aren't my mom.” I blurted out. It was rude, but it was the first thing I could say. “ _My_ mother doesn't have b-b-” I swallowed, and the lookalike laughed.

 

“B-b-buttons?” She finished, approaching and kissing my head. “I'm _not_ your mother, honey.”

 

Then she spoke the words that would alter life as I knew it. 

 

“I'm your _other_ mother.”

 


	4. Three

“Other?” I asked, confused. “I didn't know I had an _other_ mother. “

 

“Everyone does.” Said the button-eyed Mom, grinning. “I'm just yours. Now, want to go get your father and siblings for me?”

 

 _This is probably a dream_ , I realized. In the morning I probably wouldn't remember half of this.

 

“Where are they?” I asked anyways, wanting to be reasonable to my dream mom.

 

“Oh... let's see. Annie is under her heating lamp. Milo and Estella are probably in the auditorium, and Jace is blasting music in her room. Tommy is in the living room.”

 

“Is Jace having a bad day?” I asked, curious to how similar this dream would be.

 

“What?” Said the Other Mother, confused. “No. She's having a great day.”

 

“Oh, _my_ Jace only plays music loud when she has a bad day. She had a bad boyfriend.” I say, thinking back to Luke. Thank god Jace's new boyfriend killed him, even if it was an accident.

 

“Well, our Jace _loves_ loud music.” Said the other mother, smiling at me. “Now go on, I'm sure they're all starving.”

 

It was incredible. No servants had interrupted, nothing had happened, and the other mother was still keeping her attention on me. This _never_ happened back home.

 

I turned and left, heading for Annie's room first. I wondered what the alternate Annie would be like- how she would top my real little sister. It was hard to imagine, because Annie was a fantastic sister already.

 

I found her under her heat lamp like the Other Mother had said she would be, and she joined me, chattering happily about pranks. She had some pretty good ideas, so I filed them away for later. Next we went to get Jace, and as soon as I got to the floor her room was on I could hear the music pouring out the door, along with Jace singing.

 

“ _I don't give a damn about my reputation!”_

 

Well, that was one thing that hadn't changed. Real Jace had first heard that song on some chick flick she enjoyed and had gone through a phase where she played it for almost a week.

 

When we stepped into the room, Jace was dancing around the room, pretending to play a guitar. I burst out laughing for a minute because it just looked so _cheesy._

 

“Jace!” I said once I recovered. She didn't answer for a minute and I started to wonder if she was listening when she reached out and hit a button on her laptop and the room went quiet.

 

“Heeey, Nico!” She said before turning around. This Jace also had buttons, I noted. The spirals on her skin were all stitched in red yarn. “We were wondering when you were gonna show up.”

 

“We've been waiting _forever.”_ Said the other Annie emphatically.

 

“Really?” I asked, feeling a little startled.

 

“Well, yeah.” Said Other Jace, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “It just hasn't been the same without you, you know?”

 

I felt touched and not sure how to explain to the dream versions of my siblings that I had a real home to go to. Then, remembering this was only a dream, I decided to just change the subject.

 

“Let's go find Stel and Milo.” I said.

 

“Alright!” Other Annie chirped, skittering off down the hallway. I grabbed Other Jace's hand and ran after her, laughing.

 

It was a mad race down to the dream auditorium with Other Jace and I tripping, trying to stay together, and Other Annie always just ahead.

 

“I win!” She cheered when she reached the auditorium doors. “I want an extra dessert tonight.” She said to me, very serious.

 

“Good luck with that,” I said with a laugh. “You know how mom is.”

 

“I know how _your_ mom is.” Said Other Annie, pushing the doors open without ado.

 

“Shut the _fuck_ up.” Was the first thing I heard, and I peered open, surprised to see it was from Milo- or, Other Milo, I reminded myself.

 

“Make me!” Other Estella shot back, laughing. There was a metallic _clang_ as swords- _real_ swords, not the wooden ones they used at home- clashed. Other Stel and Other Milo leapt back. Other Milo looked angrier than I had _ever_ seen Real Milo, even when I died his hair pink and he flipped me off.

 

“DINNER TIME!” Other Annie screeched, and Other Stel looked over. I noticed she had a third button eye where her actual third eye was.

 

“Great, I'm _starve-”_ She began, yelping when one of the swords was rammed straight through her shoulder.

 

Instead of blood, sand poured out of the wound, and Other Stel scowled down at it.

 

“Good one, bro.” She said grudgingly.

 

“Thanks.” Said Other Milo, pulling the sword out.

 

“Are you going to die?” I asked, ready to scream as loud as I could. Surely that would bring _someone_ here.

 

“Nah,” Other Stel said lightly, keeping her hand planted on the wound. “Mom'll fix me up fine after we have Dad.”

 

“Then let's go find him.” I said, feeling slightly squeamish at the sand trickling out from between her shoulders.

 

Other Stel must have seen I was worried, because she took my free hand with her injured arm, squeezing it tight, and we headed to the living room.

 

It looked like the room was dark. I could see every now and then a flickering of flames, alternating red and green.

 

“Ooo, Dad's doing a show!” Said Other Jace, rushing in the room. When we entered the lights came on and the Other Dad grinned at me.

 

“Nico! Glad to see you finally made it.” He said, opening his hands. A small flame danced along his fingers, forming a mini him that waved, and I grinned.

 

“Thats _incredible!”_ I told him, then stopped. “Other Mom says the dinner is ready.”

 

“Who's starving, raise your hand?” Asked Other Dad playfully. Behind him, a giant red flame formed hands, and he laughed.

 

We headed back to the kitchen together, where a literal _feast_ was waiting.

 

“I was wondering when you guys were going to show up. Did you give Nico a hard time?” Asked my Other Mom, wagging one red-tipped finger at us.

 

“Other Milo stabbed Other Stel.” I blurted out. Other Stel nodded, gesturing to her hurt arm.

 

Other Mom got out a sewing kit and picked a thread that looked about the same shade as Other Stel's skin. She threaded the needle and inspected the gash in Other Stel's skin, _tsk_ ing.

 

“Need to be more on your guard, hon.” She said, beginning to sew up the wound. We all sat down at the table and waited for her. When Other Stel's arm was good as new, Other Mom began to serve us. I found I was _starving_ after all that running around the castle and dug in immediately.

 

“This is _delicious!”_ I said between bites, swallowing hungrily. I was ridiculously happy to have all of us in the same room and okay, even if it was just a dream. It was wonderful.

 

“I'm glad you like it. Do you want anything to drink?”  
  
“Strawberry Fanta?” I asked hopefully, wondering if the Other Mother would let me have soda in the middle of the night.

 

The chandelier dropped downwards and twisted around, revealing it was made up of a bunch of drink dispensers. It stopped in front of a bubbling candy-red one and I took the empty glass in front of me and filled it to the top, then chugged it.

 

In the time it took me to drink the soda, the feast disappeared and was replaced with a cake. As I watched, icing spelled out the words _Welcome Home._ Other Mom cut it for everyone and slid me a piece, but my eyelids were feeling heavy, so I put my head down on the table and closed them.

 

When I opened them again, it was daylight- or as obvious daylight as it could be in the Underworld. Jace was sitting at the kitchen counter, sipping a mug of tea.

 

“I can't believe you fell asleep at the table last night.” She teased me, slipping her noise-cancelling headphones off when she saw I was awake.

 

I smiled at her, swallowing the small stab of disappointment I felt. It was scary, but some small part of me wished I was still in the dream.

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

 **thememeking** : do you ever

 **thememeking** :have a dream you don't want to end

 **thememeking** : even when you know its not real and something is so _off_ abt it?

I hadn't been able to stop thinking about the dream world. I knew I shouldn't think about it and felt a bit guilty even- I had my _own_ family, and they were _real._ I shouldn't be thinking about some idealistic dreamland where everything was perfect.

My family was great. A world better than my birth family- Jeremy Birnbaum and my brother I never talked about, Jeremy Junior. 

My birth father had given me to the foster home, and my foster father had been abusive to his wife. I had run away from the home when I was only  _four,_ and my dad- my  _real_ dad, not Jeremy- led me down to Hell and took me in. 

My phone chimed, distracting me from my inner thoughts, and I looked at the group chat.

**Stellarlord666** : yeah one time i had a dream i got food psning from a blueberry farm

I laughed at Stel's message, replying quickly. I knew it might make them feel bad, but somehow I wanted to talk about the dream to _someone._ And Venus wasn't available...

  
  


**thememeking** : I didn't realize that was possible

 **thememeking** : last night I had a dream and it was AWESOME

 **thememeking** : but everyone had buttons instead of eyes

  
  


Stel's reply was a lot quicker this time, giving me the feeling I had somehow attracted my big sister's attention. Maybe one of her warning instincts was going off.

  
  


**Stellarlord666** : Think it means antthin?

  
  


I wondered at the dream for a moment, closing my eyes. Dream interpretation had never been my thing, but if I had to hazard a guess, my dreams were pointing out what I already knew- I was _lonely._ The duties of being royalty combined with normal high school life- college prep for Stel, Jace was finishing her Junior year, and Milo was a busy sophmore. I was becoming a freshman next year. I didn't want to tell my family the truth though- it would sound a bit pathetic- so I lied and continued on.

  
  


**thememeking** : I dunno but it was a little bit weird

 **thememeking** : Jace liked loud music, Milo swore a lot and you got stabbed

  
  


**Stellarlord666** : why didnt nothin cool happen to me?!

 

 **thememeking** : I don't know but you totally rocked at swordfighting at first

 **thememeking** : we all had dinner together

 **thememeking** : and I think my dream mom wants to adopt me but

 **thememeking** its not real, right?

** Stel's response took a while this time, taking me by surprise.  **

 

 **Stellarlord666** :

 **Stellarlord666** : maybe not

My fingers flew across the phone's keyboard before I really thought about it, typing out the message.

 **thememeking** : WAIT

 **thememeking** : it could be real!?

  
  


**Stellarlord666** : how the fuck should i kno?

 **Stellarlord666** : after that shit with

 **Stellarlord666** :whatever it was

 **Stellarlord666** : maybe

 **Stellarlord666** : dont do what creepy weird person does

** Estella had a point there, but the dreams were harmless, weren't they? Just my subconscious giving me a bit of happiness was all it was. Definitely. **

**thememeking** : if it was real that would be kinda cool but?? Weird too I already have you guys

** There was a few minutes silence, and then Stel blew up my phone. **

 

 **Stellarlord666** :

 **Stellarlord666** : i have a fun idea

 **Stellarlord666** : sibling sleepover party

 **Stellarlord666** : for no reason

 **Stellarlord666** : at all

 **Stellarlord666** : we just all

 **Stellarlord666** : sleep where i can see you

 **Stellarlord666** : doesnt that sound super fun?

 **Stellarlord666** : i can get a pizza

 **Stellarlord666** : half peppers for jace

 **Stellarlord666** : half pepperoni for me

 **Stellarlord666** : and then another one

 **Stellarlord666** : half gummy bears for you

 **Stellarlord666** : and half real worms for annie

 **Stellarlord666** : and uh

 **Stellarlord666** : more stuff

 **Stellarlord666** : aaaaand mayeb we like?

 **Stellarlord666** : dont gotta sleep???

 **Stellarlord666** : at al

 **Stellarlord666** : that sounds fun right

 **Stellarlord666** : slepless sleepover party!

 **Stellarlord666** : every nigth

 **Stellarlord666** : for a bit

  
  


I could sense that Estella was about to fly into one of her (overprotective) sister modes, so I backed off, replying simply.

  
  


**thememeking** : a sibling sleepover would be cool

  
  


I didn't think Milo got the point, because he logged back on to the group chat and started trying to refuse the sibling sleepover- a theatre club meeting the next day.

  
  


After a bit I stood up to leave my room, wanting to get food, and suddenly felt strange and panicky, like I was forgetting something.

Then I spotted the mini- me and slapped my forehead, scooping it up and opening the group chat again. This was something I thought my siblings would find really interesting.

 

 **thememeking** : I FORGOT TO TWLL YOU GUYS

 **thememeking** : I found a cloth doll yesterday

 **thememeking** : _and it looks JUST like me_

  
  


_ Milo replied quickly this time, and I could practically see his worried face in my mind's eye as I looked at the message.  _

  
  


**theatregeek101** : Nico I don't think you should play with random dolls that look like you

  
  


I frowned, thinking for a second. The mini-me looked _exactly_ like me, even down to the dramatic eyeliner I wore sometimes. That was a little creepy, but whoever knitted it must have been one of the servants in the castle, and I wasn't too bothered anyways. I was a prince- there were going to be things like that, weren't there? My own Mom had a whole merchandise line from the time she overthrew Saint Olga's. Instead of pointing out my overrationalizations, I just typed out a short text.

  
  


**thememeking** :but its so cute!!

  
  


Stel piped up again, and I grinned. At least _someone_ was acting a bit normal. 

  
  


**Stellarlord666** : Really? can I see? you have it with you?

 **thememeking** : yeah. I was gonna leave it in my room but I felt really weird just leaving it behind, idk why

  
  


That _had_ been odd. I had never been one of those people who needed to bring something with them- I wasn't at all like Linus from those old cartoons, dragging an old blanket everywhere.

 

 **Stellarlord666** : lemme take a look

  
  


Stel wanting to look at the doll was a bit weird, but again I shrugged it off. She probably just wanted to see what it looked like. So I took a quick detour from the kitchen to go by Stel's room, holding the doll tightly under my arms.

When she opened the door she immediately held out her hand for the doll and I passed it over to her, watching as she turned it over and over in her hands.

“It really does look just like you.” She said after a moment, an unreadable expression on her face.

“Its cool, isn't it?” I asked, grinning.

Stel stared at it for another few moments, and then- with her pink eyes glowing for a split second- she lit the doll on fire.

“Oops.” She said, her tone flat, still holding the doll. I snatched it out of her hands even though it was burning and threw it on the ground, stomping mini-me several times to get the flames out.

Once the little me was no longer on fire I calmed down, wincing slightly as several small burns on my hands registered. I scooped up the doll and checked it over for damage. The little me's clothes were singed but not too damaged, and the hair and skin and smile were still a perfect replica of my own.

 

The biggest problem was its little button eyes- the threads had burnt through and the buttons had fallen to the ground. I scooped them up now and tried not to wince again- the buttons were still super hot- and put them in my pocket.

  
  


The parts of my doll collected, I finally looked up at Stel, only to register a faint look of disappointment in her eyes.

  
  


“Why did you _do_ that?” I demanded, not liking the sound of my voice- higher pitched, accusing, panicked. 

  
  


“It was an accident!” Stel said, holding up her hands in defense. “But let me see it again- just to be sure, you know?”

  
  


I pushed the doll flat against my chest, shaking my head. 

  
  


“No, I'm not trusting you around mini me anymore.” I told Stel. “They're _blind_ now, I don't even know how to sew. I'm gonna go see if one of the servants can fix 'em up. I'll see you tonight for the sibling sleepover?”

  
  


Stel looked unhappy for a minute, like she wanted to argue, but after a moment she just nodded. 

  
  


“See you tonight.” She confirmed. 

I couldn't deny it had been fun having the sibling sleepover. 

  
  


We had all gathered in the living room with a couple of takeout pizzas and a bunch of soda. It was only soda from Earth though, so it didn't have much of a kick to it. And because I drank demon coffee so much of the time, Earth things didn't affect me like they should. 

  
  


Still, I had stayed awake later than all of my siblings- Annie had fallen asleep first and was curled up under her heat lamp, only a few feet away from me. Milo had gone to bed second for his theatre thing, and Jace had tried to stay awake, obviously texting with Arrog- I could tell because the spirals along her arms and face turned pink. 

Stel had been the very last person to go to sleep, keeping a steady eye on me and talking to me. She talked about magic, spells she wanted to learn, questioned me about pranks, clearly wanting to keep us both awake. After a while though, conversation had dropped off and she had fallen asleep, sitting up straight against the couch.

  
  


After I was sure I wasn't going to be woken up again by my siblings I let my eyelids drift shut. After what seemed a very short time they were opening again and the mouse was waiting in front of the living room door, beckoning me.

  
  


I needed very little prompting, and I jumped out of the lovesack I was sleeping in, chasing the mouse up the steps to the door eagerly.

  
At the door, I hesitated for a moment- was it really right to keep having the dream, when my siblings were real and sleeping downstairs because my older sister was worried about me?

  
  


Then the door at the end of the blue tunnel opened, and I saw the Other Milo poke his head in.

  
  


“What the fuck are you still over there for?” He asked, waving me forwards. “C'mon, Nico, we got shit to do tonight.”

  
  


I threw myself down the tunnel eagerly, grinning. 

 


	6. Chapter 6

“It's about damn time.” Other Milo said as I emerged in the dream world, bouncing on my toes. “What took you so long?”

  
  


“I'm sorry about that- Stel kept me awake till like three in the morning or something, she seems to think that this is dangerous.”

  
  


Other Milo grinned mischeviously, and I couldn't help but grin back when he slung an arm around my shoulder.

  
  


“Well, how can you have any fun in life without a bit of danger?” He asked me, and I nodded vigorously.

  
  


“I know!” I said. “I mean, if nothing is wrong, then nothing's very entertaining. You _gotta_ cause a little mischief, am I right?”

  
  


“Sounds about right to me.” The Other Milo said, a glint appearing in his button eyes. “What do you say to causing a bit of mischief ourselves?”

  
  


I pulled up short at this, grinning. Real Milo  _never_ played pranks with me. Sometimes he tried to, but his idea of a prank was something nice like doing the excess laundry before the servants got to it.

  
  


“I'd absolutely love to.” I said, trying not to bounce with all the excitement I was feeling. “Who are we pranking?”

  
  


Other Milo frowned, drumming his hand off the wall as he thought about it.

  
  


“I don't know where our sisters are right now, and Mom's working in that damn garden... We could always prank Dad.”

  
  


The use of the words “ _our_ sisters” compared to Other Annie's “ _your_ mother” had me feeling a bit unsettled, but I shook it off easily.

  
  


“Sure, I'd like to prank Other Dad.” I said lightly, perching on the edge of the kitchen table. There was a plate of cookies there and I took one, biting into it eagerly. “Do you have any ideas?”

  
  


“Well, Dad usually puts baking soda in his clothes before he does a show so that they don't catch on fire.” Other Milo said with a grin. “And I happen to have found some itching powder that looks _exactly_ like baking soda.”

  
  


“I see where this is going.” I replied, grabbing another cookie and holding the plate out to him. He took a couple and shoved them in his pockets,then grabbed me by the elbow.

  
  


“C'mon, time's-a-wasting.” He said cheerfully, dragging me down the hall and up the stairs.

  
  


He grew quieter as we approached the room where our- I mean, the _Other_ Parents- slept. When we stepped into the bedroom I noticed that the Other Dad had one of his nice suits laid out, nice and neat, with baking soda already sprinkled. I crept into the room and held out my hand, and the Other Milo set the box of itching powder down in my hand.

  
  


I shook some of the powder from the box into the suit, sprinkling it gently like the baking soda was. No sooner had Other Milo hidden the powder stealthily in his seemingly bottomless pockets, Other Dad came in, looking like he was rushing.

  
  


“Nico, Milo!” He said, grinning. “What're you two rascals doing in here?”

  
  


Other Milo and I looked at each other for a moment, then Other Milo spoke, innocently taking a bite out of a cookie.

  
  


“Nico wanted to see how this room was different from their parent's room.” He said lightly. “I don't think its different at all, but they wanted to see anyways.”

  
  


“No, it's a little different. Home has spikes outside the wall.” I said, just as lightly.

  
  


“Well, you two should go explore somewhere else- and come back for my show in half an hour!” Other Dad said, then looked at his watch. “Oh _hell,_ I'm running late and I still have to change.”

  
  


“My Mom doesn't let me say hell.” I said automatically, and Other Dad reached out and flicked my nose teasingly.

  
  


“Well then, don't tell her I said it either,okay?” He asked, winking. I nodded and grinned, and then Other Milo grabbed me by the elbow again, _hard._ I was pretty sure I was gonna bruise.

  
  


“We'll see you in half an hour, Dad.” He told the Other Dad before steering me out of the room. We made it halfway down the hall before I couldn't hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. Other Milo started laughing too, and in a moment we were on the floor from laughing so hard.

  
  


“He didn't suspect a fucking _thing!”_ Other Milo said gleefully.

  
  


“Oh, I can't wait to see the look on his face!”

  
  


“That reminds me,” Other Milo said, pulling me to my feet. “We better get to his show, we don't want anyone to suspect anything.”

  
  


“True.” I said, dusting off my clothes. “Where are his shows at?”

  
  


“The official ones are down in the auditorium, but tonight's performance is in the living room again.” Said Other Milo, smiling. “We take turns using the auditorium for his shows and my plays. Sometimes we work together to come up with something, and it's always really cool.”

  
  


“I wish I could see one of those.” I said before I thought about it, trying hard not to feel guilty after. This was a _dream._ It wasn't like it was the real Milo.

  
  


“Maybe you can see it one of the times you come visit.” Other Milo said hopefully. “ Dad and I don't have anything right now, but I'm sure we can whip something up together.”

  
  


“That would be amazing!” I told him, grinning as we wandered to the living room.

  
  


“The prodigal kids return!” I heard Other Stel say from the living room, and I grinned at her. She grinned back, waving me forwards.

  
  


“Come on, you have a friend here!” Said Other Stel, and I walked into the room, wondering who it was.

  
  


The stitched atoms on his face were the first things I noticed, and then the Other Venus grinned at me. He held out a single white rose made of fabric and I took it from him, feeling my face turn red slowly. Then he grabbed me and hugged me tightly, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek.

  
  


“Sorry I wasn't here to see you the other day!” He told me, smiling. “I was just finishing up one of my projects, and I didn't find out you were here until you'd gone!”

  
  


“It's okay.” I told him, still blushing. Over his shoulder I could see my Other Mom giving me a teasing grin. “I wasn't here for very long, anyways.”

  
  


“Still.” Said the Other Venus, smiling at me. “I'm glad to see you today.”

  
  


Before I could answer, the lights dimmed and the Other Mother turned to face us, putting her finger to her lips.

  
  


“Dad's show is starting!” She told us, motioning. “Quick, sit down!”

  
  


I flopped down on the same lovesack I was sleeping in and Other Venus sat down beside me, taking my hand. I was blushing so badly I was pretty sure I was going to explode.

  
  


Other Dad stepped out, scratching beneath his collar and looking pained- I burst into laughter and Other Milo gave me a triumphant look, and then flames started dancing along.

  
  


I couldn't help but gasp- my father hardly ever used his fire powers. The only time in recent memory I could remember him setting fires was when we had caught Luke, Jace's boyfriend. That had been terrifying and powerful and intimidating.

  
  


But this was beautiful! The flames burnt orange and yellow and an odd, beautiful emerald green. They formed different shapes- the royal family, dancing pixies, a silent story about two people in love- and I wished I could have watched it all night long. However, as I kept my eyes trained on the flames I felt them start to burn with tiredness. Before I knew it I was snuggling into the Other Venus' shoulder, closing my eyes.

  
  


And then Annie was shaking me back and forth.

  
  


“Nico, wake up!”

  
  


When I opened my eyes she grinned, folding her arms and crawling off of me.

  
  


“ Estella said you weren't s'possed to sleep.” Annie said with a grin. “But I thought I'd let you sleep a while anyways. “

  
  


“Thanks, Annie.” I said, rubbing one of my eyes as I struggled to sit up in the lovesack.

  
  


“No problem!” Annie chirped, then pointed at my free hand. “Where'd you get that from?”

  
  


When I looked down at what was curled in my fingers, I couldn't help but gasp.

  
  


It was the rose that the Other Venus had given me. The fabric petals were pristine white still. I realized Annie was waiting for an answer and paused.

  
  


“I must have been sleepwalking.” I told her, shrugging. “It was in a dream of mine, maybe when I was sleepwalking I grabbed it.”

  
  


I saw Annie nod, chewing on a piece of hair. I leaned over and pulled the chunk of hair out of her mouth, smiling.

  
  


“You wanna go scare the shit out of some cows on Earth?” I asked her.

  
  


“Hell yes!” She said, jumping off the lovesack happily.

  
  


“ _Language!”_ I heard Mom say down the hall.

“I'll grab some fireworks and meet you in the Entrance Hall in fifteen minutes, alright?”

  
  


“I'll be waiting!” Annie told me, skittering away.

  
  


I ran up the stairs and grabbed the fireworks like I had told Annie I would. But before I left the room, I set the fabric rose down on the dresser carefully.

  
  


 


	7. Six

  
  


**thememeking** : SJDGRJBDJD I LOVE MY DREAM WORLD

 **theatregeek101** : Nico, maybe it's kinda.. bad? to be having the same dream every night??

  
  


When I saw Milo's response I frowned slightly. Some people did have the same dreams every night, didn't they? Jace was one of the people who did- although hers probably shouldn't count because they _weren't_ dreams, only recurring nightmares. 

  
  


_Besides,_ I thought with a sudden grin,  _they_ aren't  _the same dream._

  
  


**thememeking** : its not the same though!! It continues every night and they're so fun aaa

  
  


Milo replied right away, which made me wonder if he was on a break from rehearsing or something. He usually didn't respond this soon.

 **theatregeek101** : something about this just makes me worry

  
  


I typed out a quick response, not wanting him to get too worried. If he did, he might tell Mom or Dad and that would just be really awful and awkward for everyone involved. I made a mental note to make sure the windows were unlocked in case I needed a quick escape.

 **thememeking** : you don't have to worry! Everyone in the dream is super nice to me its gr8

 **theatregeek101** : so.. you're saying we're not nice to you.. ?

  
  


“Shit.” I whispered, shaking my head. I didn't want to upset Milo- the last thing I wanted to do was upset _any_ of my siblings. I had to backpedal, and fast.

 **thememeking** : no you are!! Just

 **thememeking** :you guys are all so busy :((

 

I typed out another message and cancelled it when I realized how it would sound.

 _ **Thememeking**_ : **(UNSENT)** and I dont do a lot so??I feel kinda lonely sometimes

 

Milo never responded to my messages to the group chat so I closed the app, figuring he was back to rehearsing.

 

Jace was at a late cheer practice, and then she was going to “hang out” (read: go on a date) with Arrog. Out of the three of us kids who had crushes, I figured that Jace was probably the least obvious.

 

Milo, when given a chance, would talk about Olyver for ages. I was a blushing wreck when Venus was around and made no effort to hide my crush on him. Jace was the only one who still tried to pretend she was only friends with Arrog, but I was pretty sure that was because Dad was really protective of Jace after everything with Luke.

 

Estella was busy, but she wanted to have another sibling sleepover that night (“ and this time, we're going to stay awake all night and watch movies!”). Annie was hanging with her friend again, but her and I had some amazing pranks planned for the next day. As long as Dad didn't hear us talking about it, we would be good to go along with the plan.

 

I was wondering what I should do to fill up the time until the sleepover- I could always go bug Grandma Wrathmelior or Grandpa Dave- when my phone buzzed. Looking at the screen, I wondered what Venus' older sister Nova could possibly want with me.

 

**GreenMeansRun:** Hey, Nico! I lost my phone, but it's Venus. Want to hang out for a while?

 

I nearly dropped my phone, I was so happy, but I recovered my hold on it and replied quickly. 

 

**Thememeking:** I'd love to!! The Underworld or Mewni??

 

**GreenMeansRun:** I was thinking maybe Earth. We could grab some food from Britta's Tacos or something??

 

**Thememeking:** Alright, meet you there!!

 

I stood up and grabbed the mini me (I still felt weird about leaving it behind) and pushed it into a backpack, needing to stock up on more fireworks and sweets and stuff anyways. Then I grabbed my wallet and made sure I had enough money (six hundred and fifty dollars). 

 

I yanked a brush through my hair as fast as I could, wincing when it got caught in the tangles, and then put my devil horn headband back on. After a moments hesitation I removed my glow-in-the-dark green fangs because it was hard to eat with those in, and then I grabbed my dimensional scissors. 

 

As I closed the door to my room the last thing I saw was the fabric rose from the Other Venus, gleaming an almost eerie shade of white in the reddish dark of my bedroom. 

* * *

 

 

When I emerge on Earth, taking a moment to get used to how  _ bright  _ the sun is, Venus is waiting for me. He's got a small bouquet of flowers in his hand- daisies and things, it looks a bit like he picked them himself, and now I'm blushing again.

 

“Sorry I've been so busy lately.” He tells me,giving me the flowers, and I grin at him. “I know you've probably been pretty bored.”

 

“It's been _so_ boring, you can't even imagine.” I tell him. “But its okay, I know you and your science projects. What have you been doing lately?”

 

“Building models of what humans thought atoms looked like throughout history.” He tells me, his face lighting up. “Its fascinating, really.”

 

“I'm sure it is! I mean, didn't they have like four or five versions of what they thought atoms were before what they have today?”

 

“Yeah!” He says, and falls into his Gush-About-Science mode, telling me about each one and the experiments used to discover them. 

 

“Are you going to re-create the experiments to see if you get the same results?” I ask him, and he grins. 

 

“I hadn't thought about that, but I probably should! That's a really fun idea!” He tells me. “Thanks.”

 

“No problem, I just thought it sounded interesting.” I tell him, and he nods as we approach the taco stand. 

 

“What about you?” He asks me. “What's been going on in your world?”

 

I hesitate for only a few moments before it all spills out- my dream world, how ridiculous I felt for even having the dreams, how much the Other Venus reminded me of him, even the mini doll I felt like I had to bring with me everywhere.

 

“Are you sure they're just dreams?” Venus asks me after a few moments silence, as though he's taking everything in slowly. 

 

“Yeah, I am.” I tell him.

 

“What about the rose from the dream version of me? You said it was in your hand still when you woke up?” He asked.

 

“It was, which was really odd. I know for a fact we don't keep roses in the castle anymore.”

 

“Could I have a look at it?” He asks, and I frown slightly. “I'm not going to burn it or anything like Stel did with the doll.” 

 

“I'll have to get it from my room.” I tell him, smiling. “Just-- give me a couple minutes, I'll be right back.”

 

“Okay.” He says easily, leaning back in his seat. “Want me to order for us?”

 

“Yeah, I'm starving!”

 

I use the dimensional scissors and end up dumped right outside the throne room, which wasn't a problem. I could just cut through there to my room and grab the rose-

 

“So you'll take them?”

 

I froze, my hand a couple inches away from pushing the door open. What was Mom talking about?

 

“Thank you so much.” I heard her sigh. “I normally wouldn't ask, but Nico's been so off-the-wall lately, I think it would do them good...”

 

She kept talking, but I didn't hear her. I turned and walked away, trying to keep my footsteps even so that no one would see the worry I could feel. 

 

Mom was going to send me away? Just ship me off to who the hell only knew where?

 

I wasn't going to go. 

 

I figured I would hide out in one of the abandoned rooms for a while and then sneak out. I had to come up with something- promise I would be better, just  _ something  _ because I didn't want to leave my home. But then again, if Mom was going to send me away would a promise even help?

 

I didn't realize what room I was in for a few minutes until I heard the muffled squeak. 

 

There was a tiny mouse paw under the door that I knew was bricked off. I didn't like to think about the little thing being trapped there, so I pulled the door open to set it free...

 

And stared right down the tunnel to see my Other Mother.

 

She smiled at me brilliantly, but the look was replaced immediately by concern.

 

“Nico, honey, have you been _crying?”_ She asked, holding out her hand. “Come here.”

 

I debated for only a moment before scooping up the mouse and closing the door behind me. 

 

At least my Other Mother wouldn't send me away.

 


	8. Seven

“What's wrong?” My Other Mother asked me when I got to the end of the passageway. I threw myself into her arms and she hugged me back, but it didn't feel quite right.

 

Her skin was colder than my real Mom's, and she didn't smell like cinnamon and sugar the way Mom did- in fact, she didn't smell like _anything._

 

I was about to ask her why that was, but then her question finally registered and I was upset all over again.

 

“I think Mom wants to send me away.”

 

The other Mother tilted her head, frowning slightly.

 

“What!? I would never send you away!”

 

“Not you.” I said quickly. “My _real_ Mom. She was talking with someone via Mirrorphone, and thanked them for offering to take me.”

 

“Why would she do that?” Asked the Other Mother. I shrugged lightly, blinking away my tears.

 

“I don't know.” I said, voice small. “I guess I've been kind of a brat lately...”

 

“Oh please, all kids are brats sometimes.” Came Other Milo's voice, and I looked up to see him and the rest of the Other family in the doorway. “I know I've probably driven Mom and Dad off the fucking wall several times a day.”

 

“You know, kiddo, I think that's true. At least, it is for me.” Said Other Dad with a playful grin. “But we'd never send you away.”

 

“Thank god for that; I need my sparring partner.” Said Other Stel, voice light; the Other Family was trying hard to cheer me up, so I gave in with a watery smile.

 

The more I thought about the conversation I had overheard, the more I kept feeling like I might have missed most of it. Everything with how Mom acted made me think that she wouldn't want to give me away.

 

But then again, people could show different sides of themselves to different people. I had no way of knowing.

 

Something told me I should leave, go back and ask her what was going on, but I was too scared to. What if she  _was_ sending me away for good? 

 

I wouldn't be able to deal with that. Losing my family- the only family I'd had that I really loved- would literally kill me.

 

I would have to stay out of the way for a while, gather my courage.

 

“Can I stay here for a week or two?” I asked my Other Mother. “I just want to give it some time, see if what I heard was real or if I didn't hear the whole thing, but.... I can't go back there yet.”

 

“Of course, sweetheart.” Said Other Dad, speaking for her. “We love you, and we love having you here.”

 

My Other Mother smiled at me, brushing a tear off of my cheek.

 

“There's just one thing we need to do first.” Said the Other Mother. “Well, two things, actually.”

 

I tilted my head, curious. “What are they?”

 

“Well, we have to get your room ready for you to stay the week.” She said, grinning down at me. “And the other thing...”

 

She pulled a small box out of her pocket with a flourish, lifting the lid.

 

It took me a moment to comprehend it, but in the box were two black buttons, a needle, and a spool of black thread.

 

When I glanced up at her button eyes again I understood.

 

My first thought was to recoil, to go back down the portal and never come back, but then another thought flashed through my brain.

 

_I never wanted to be human._

 

That was the truth. I hadn't wanted to be a human since I was four years old and found out there were people who weren't human.

 

_If I do this I won't be completely human anymore._

 

I bit my lip and looked back up at the Other Mother.

 

“Does it hurt?” I asked her.

 

The Other Mother shook her head, and behind her I saw the Other Milo shake his head. Was it me, or was his mouth tipped in the slightest bit of warning?

 

“It doesn't hurt at all.” Said the Other Mother, her red lips tilting upwards in a smile. “I promise.”

 

That made up my mind.

 

“Do it then, please.”

* * *

 

They moved me to one of the chairs at the dining table, faces solemn except for the Other Mother's, whose face was alight with excitement- or was it something more sinister? I shook that thought out of my mind.

 

_This isn't a horror movie, Nico._

 

The other Mother threaded the needle, and placed the button over my right eye, making me close it. I kept it shut, but my left eye stayed focused on that needle.

 

She said it wouldn't hurt at all.

 

She lied.

 

When the needle first went in I  _screamed,_ trying to pull back from her, but Other Dad and Other Stel seized my arms, holding them down. Other Jace had her hands on my shoulders firmly to keep me in the chair, and Other Milo held one of my hands, his voice calmer and nicer than he normally was.

 

“It's okay, Nico, it'll be over soon. I know it hurts, but I promise it will be worth it. We can go watch a movie later if you want. Or play a prank on someone. Won't that be fun?”

 

The needle came back out, a drop of blood splashing into my lap, and went back in, and I screamed again, tears running out of my left eye. I could feel something falling down the right side of my face, but I wasn't sure if it was tears or not.

 

“Halfway done now, Nico.” Said the Other Mother, and I noticed her voice was _cold,_ passionless making me want to flinch back. “Be brave for me, okay?”

 

“I'll try.” I managed to say, although the pain was so bad I wanted to pass out.

 

She had me close my left eye and I felt the button being positioned over it. At the same time I felt something odd happening in my chest- a sort of scraping, tugging feeling, as though someone was reaching inside of me and pulling something out. I didn't like that, at all.

 

The needle went in again and I bit down on my lip hard so I didn't scream, focusing on good things. Venus' smile. How the Other Milo's voice sounded. His voice overlapped with one of my memories, being six years old and having real Milo read _The Cursed Child_ to me.

 

My heart was beating too fast, like it was going to burst out of my chest, and the binder I was wearing felt painfully restrictive at the moment. That tugging feeling in my chest grew to be painful, and then there was another burst of _agony,_ so strong that for a moment I felt like I was dying, like I was dead.

 

“All done.” Came the Other Mother's voice. Still cold, but warming up again. “Nico, you were so brave on that last one. I'm proud of you.”

 

A brief feeling of happiness swept over me.

 

“Thanks... Mom.” I said hesitantly. I didn't know what to call her because my real Mom was back through the passageway, and you can't just call someone “Other Mom.” It seemed rude to. “Am I blind now?”

 

“Oh, that?” Came Other Jace's voice. “You're fine. Your vision will come back in just a second, but a little differently.”

 

Just as she said that, the world started to sketch itself out again, but it looked different, just as Other Jace had said.

 

I no longer saw in color, but in various shades ranging from white to black.

 

Most everything in the room was greyscale.

 

The only things in the room that were black were the button eyes of my Other Family. At the center of the Other Kid's chests were these glowing white centers that were so bright it _hurt_ my eyes- um, buttons.

 

I looked down at my chest to see if the same thing happened, but there was no glow there, nothing bright at all.

 

Then I looked back up at the Other Mother.

 

In her hand was a glowing white ball, bright and the size of the Other Sibling's glows.

 

It took a moment, but the horror of that image clicked.

 

She had taken my _soul._

 


	9. Eight

I stifled a scream when I realized she held my soul in her hand, pointing to it instead.

 

“Put it back!”  
  
I cringed at my voice. I sounded terrified, not at all strong like I wanted my voice to sound.

 

“No, I don't think I will.” she said firmly, looking at me sternly. “You see, souls are a rather unnecessary thing here.”

 

_Then why do the Others have them?_ I wondered for a moment, holding out my hand stubbornly.

 

“I'm only staying for a little while.” I said, forcing my voice to be level this time. “I need that to live out there.”

 

The other mother smiled at me, and once again I noticed something was off. Her teeth were pointier than my real Mom's.

 

Her entire appearance was shifting, melting away to reveal her true form as I spoke to her.

 

She grew taller, her hair darkening. She grew thinner at the same time, a delicate web of cracks spinning across her face.

 

“You aren't my mother.” I said, the words raw and ripped out of my mouth. “You aren't even my _other_ mother, are you? You're just a monster.”

 

The other mother's smile changed, deepened to a scowl.

 

“Take that back, young _lady_. And I don't think you're leaving here any time soon.”

 

I felt a sting go through me, as sharp as if she had driven that needle of hers into my heart. I tilted my head up, putting on my best cold voice.

 

I had heard my birth father use this voice, I heard countless royals use this voice. It made it sound like I cared for nothing in the world, and that I  _knew_ the next words I spoke would be obeyed. 

 

“I'm not a girl.” I said to her, my voice sounding sharp enough to cut glass. “ _He_ and _they_ are my pronouns, and I know you know it. Give me back my soul; I think it's time I went home now.”

 

“You're not leaving this house.” Snapped the other mother, her voice just as cold as mine. “That's the beauty of the situation; without your soul, you are bound to this place forever. And I think I deserve an apology for that horrid comment- calling your own mother a monster!”

 

A wash of cold fear went through me, and I saw the other mother smile. I threw up my head, scowling.

 

“I won't apologize for speaking the truth. You _aren't_ my mother, you _are_ a monster. In more ways than one- I don't judge on looks at all, otherwise I wouldn't speak to half my _real_ family. Anyways, I think I'm the one who deserves an apology. You misgendered me on purpose, and that makes you seem like a real bitch, you know?”

 

“Child, there are several things you need to do _at once.”_ Snapped the Other Mother. “First, you need to apologize for that comment. You will correct your language. You need to accept that I am your _mother_ and I know what's best for you. You _won't_ be getting your soul back, and you _will_ accept this and turn that frown of yours upside down, or I'll do it for you.”

 

As always, I had to push at the weak point.

“Why don't you fucking make me smile?” I asked her. “Maybe it would be easier if, oh, I don't know- you let me get the hell away from here?”

 

At this, the Other Mother straightened and I felt another wave of fear go down my spine. When she spoke again, her voice was heavy.

 

“You're breaking my heart.” She said, waving a hand in my direction. Other Dad pinned my arms behind my back, and I wondered for a moment what was going to happen.

 

She took one of her hands- now oddly shaped, every finger clicking like they were needles of their own, and shaped my mouth into a smile. I stayed frozen, confused.

 

And then she threaded the needle with her free hand, and I started yelling. I don't even know what I yelled, only that I used a lot of foul language, and the tone of my voice was odd, a mixture of rage and purest terror. I tried to bite her hand, but just hurt my teeth- those fingers were hard as stone.

 

The needle went in towards the left side of my bottom lip, and the taste of copper filled my mouth. I tried to work my jaw so I could spit it out, but was no longer able to.

 

A moment later, my lips felt too tight and awful. I knew what had happened without needing to look in the floor length mirror she led me towards, but I did anyways.

 

My lips were stretched tightly in a terrible parody of my brightest smiles. At the corners, blood beading up, she had stitched my mouth so that it would stay open.

 

I looked like a freak.

 

“Now, will you apologize?” Asked the Other Mother.

 

I shook my head adamantly, glaring at my reflection- and her- in the mirror.

 

“Then you'll have to stay and _think_ about what you've done.” She said, then with both hands shoved me forwards.

 

I flinched back, expecting to collide off the mirror and feel it shatter around me, braced for more pain, and didn't receive any.

 

Instead the mirror rippled around me and I fell into a stone room. I turned and tried to jump back through the mirror, but the mirror melted, leaving only stone behind.

 

I forced back the urge to hammer on the brick and yell my head off- I couldn't yell, anyways. My lips wouldn't work to form the sounds.

 

Instead I turned and surveyed the room- made of stone, no windows, puddles from mysterious leaks on the ground, and _cold._ I could already feel my fingers beginning to go numb, or was that just because I had lost my soul?

 

In one corner of the room was the thinnest mattress I had ever seen, propped up on some sort of metal. There was nothing to protect me from the cold of the room but the thin, ragged blanket and the sheets that were on the bed.

 

I sat down on the bed and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders, curling up into the wall to conserve warmth.

 

_What have I gotten myself into?_

 

 

 


	10. Nine

I wasn't sure how much time had passed since I had entered the mirror room. It could have been minutes or hours when the glass reappeared and Other Milo slipped in. Behind him, the mirror turned to stone again.

 

“I can only stay for a few minutes.” He told me. “But that was an idiotic thing to do.”

 

I stared at him, tilting my head in question and wishing I could speak around the stitches in my mouth.

 

“You shouldn't challenge Mother.” He said, placing his hands flat on the stone under him. “Now she's going to kill you slower.”

 

A trace of panic must have appeared in my expression, because my fake brother waved his hands quickly.

 

“You need to understand- Mother is a demon called a Beldam.” He told me. “There are dozens of them scattered through the dimensions, and one of them was discovered once, because they made a movie inspired by it. Beldams feed on the life energy and the souls of anyone under the age of twenty-one, because in the ancient days twenty-one was the age of adulthood. Children make her more powerful. Are you getting this?”

 

He paused until I nodded, then continued to speak.

 

“You're going to start forgetting things really soon. Your name, our names, how old you are, who you love, where you're from.” He said urgently. “And I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do to prevent it.”

 

This was getting too frustrating. I needed to talk to him.

 

Using sign language, I formed my question, and was met with only confusion.

 

A lightbulb went off in my head- I had never seen an Other Trixie here in the Underworld, because she was off at school now. She went to a private school and had been gone there since my dreams started- she hadn't been back yet. She spent half the week there and half at home.

 

Instead, I moved carefully to one of the puddles around the room and dipped my finger in the water, writing on a dry section of stone.

 

_Why was she so nice?_

 

A trace of sadness appears in Other Milo's eyes.

 

“She loves it- getting the trust of the kids, making them love her, the reactions she gets when she rips their souls out.”

 

_How long will I stay alive?_

 

“I don't know. It could be a couple weeks, or a couple months. She'll bring you just enough food to keep you alive, but you're going to wish you were dead. She'll play mind games with you, starve you slowly and torture you. She'll feed off your life energy until you die, and when you die, she'll feed off your soul till you're just the barest echo of yourself.”

 

Other Milo tilts his head and leaps to his feet, crossing the room.

 

“One of the Others is awake. Nico?”

 

I look up at him, tilting my head.

 

“Don't trust anyone.”

 

I work my jaw as best as I can, determined to speak through the stitches.

 

“I won'th. Promise.”

 

Blood creeps out of the corner of my mouth, and Other Milo gives me a look of deepest regret.

 

And then he's gone, and I'm alone again in the damp room.

* * *

 

While my fake brother gave me hope, my next visitor takes it away.

 

He steps into the room, the atoms on his cheeks barely visible in the gloom.

 

I'm both surprised and a little scared when it takes me a moment to remember his name.

 

“-Enus!” I exclaim, the word coming back into my head. Still difficult to speak, I can't pronounce the _V_ in his name.

 

“I'm not the _real_ Venus, but I imagine he feels the same way about you that I do.” The Other Venus' voice sounds contemptuous, cold. I cringe back into the wall, preferring the physical cold I can feel seeping into my skin. Better than his voice, which sounds like broken glass.

 

“ 'ow ith that?” I ask, frustrated. I sound almost unintelligible, but I can't remove the stitches on my face.

 

“I hate you.” He says simply, and I think my heart broke. “You're so annoying- _god,_ do you think its actually charming when you make those shitty jokes and prank people? Do you think the _real_ me ever really cared about you? You're just a diversion between projects, and you know it.”

 

I'm shaking my head back and forth now, and he laughs, a barking sound with no real mirth.

 

“Why do you think he's always so busy? He has better things to do than sit around and listen to you prattle on.”

 

I'm still shaking my head, but slower now, more doubtful. Does he really hate me? I am annoying at times.

 

The Other's voice almost echoes my next thoughts.

 

_If so, he might-_

 

“He's probably _glad_ you're missing.”

 

The damage done, my heart broken, he leaves again, and I curl up on the bed.

 

–

* * *

 

 

In the darkness, I begin to forget things. I try to remind myself, but it's hard.

 

_My name is Nico Harper Lucitor Diaz. I'm fourteen years old. I have five siblings- Estella, Jace, Milo, Trixie, and Annie. My parents are the King and Queen of Hell. I'm in love with Venus, a prince from Mewni. I was kidnapped by the beldam, who tricked me into thinking she loved me._

 

A few- _weeks, days, how long?-_ later, after she brings me a meager meal, I find myself wondering how long it will be before mother returns.

 

_My name is Nico Harper Lucitor Diaz. I'm fourteen years old. I have siblings- Estella, Jace, Milo, Annie...._

 

A girl with gold and blue eyes flashes into my mind. I can't remember her name.

 

_My parents are the King and Queen of Hell. I'm in love with a prince from..._

 

His sweet face pops into my mind, the one who hates me. Where is he from?

 

_Mother is upset with me because I did something, but I don't remember what._

 

It's some period of time before Mother returns. Long enough that I feel sick from hunger, that the cold numbs me through and through.

 

“I'm thorry, Mama.”

 

“I know you are, sweet child. But you can't leave this room yet.”

 

_My name is Nico Harper Lucitor Diaz. I have siblings- three girls and a boy. My parents are King and Queen. I upset my mother._

 

My brother comes to me in the dark once more, his button eyes glinting with sorrow and concern.

 

“Nico?”

 

I have forgotten how to speak, so I stare at him, words lost.

“Do you remember my name?”  
  
I shake my head. I can't remember his name, only the tone of his voice reading to me when I was small- was I ever small? Or have I always been the same age, been locked in this room?

 

“You're so thin.” He whispers. Mother's voice sounds from far away, and he vanishes again.

 

He doesn't return, but Mother comes along- maybe a short time later, maybe centuries.

 

“Eat.”

 

I'm not hungry.

 

Or maybe I am. That would explain the sharp and constant ache in my stomach that I've grown to rely on. It keeps me remembering that I exist.

 

“Come on, child. You need to keep your strength up. Or at least not waste away so quickly.”

 

I shake my head, and then she pushes something into my hands.

 

The pain in my stomach wins out, and I drink it. It's a cup of broth. Not enough to truly stop the aching in my stomach, but she's contented.

 

_My name is..._

 

_My name is...._

 

_I can't remember._

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	11. Ten

I am no one.

 

I've been in this room for what I think is my entire life. Sometimes little faded dreams flicker in my mind- a home with happiness and warmth, someone who loved me as much as I loved him.

 

These dreams bring only a moment of comfort before I realize where I am, alone again, cold and nobody.

 

I know I am near death. I can feel it- I'm too weak to move out of my spot on the bed. My limbs move too slowly, and pain beats like a drum throughout my body.

 

Strangely, I'm not afraid. The ghost children who whisper to me in my sleep and assure me that death, while saddening, will finally mean I'm not alone anymore. They stick together.

 

Mother seems to know that I'm near the end. She no longer bothers to bring me food, or sit with me or talk to me.

 

It seems that the last of my life will be spent alone, in silence and in cold.

 

Mother _does_ see fit to grant me one last mercy- the walls of my cell grow thin, allow me to hear snatches of conversation from Outside.

 

Mostly I hear talk from the guards in the Outer World.

 

“How much longer are they going to devote sources to finding the younger prince?”

 

“Until they find evidence of whether or not the Prince is alive or not.” Says the other voice. It's low, and I assume there must be someone nearby they want to keep from hearing them.

 

“I hear the Queen isn't taking it well at all.”

 

At the word Queen, I feel a faint wash of warmth, a distant scent of cinnamon.

 

A different voice speaks up, a different guard.

 

“Would you take it well if one of your children were missing?”

 

Silence for a moment. Then, footsteps retreating, one of the guards speaks.

 

“You have a point, Corus.”

 

–

 

It's too difficult to speak through the stitches, and I have no one to talk to any more. As a result, I've lost the ability to speak. I'm a silent observer.

 

Funny. I have the feeling I wasn't that way Before. Before this room, whatever hellish existence this is.

 

Was there a before?

 

I can't remember.

 

I drag the thin blanket around my shoulders, feeling exhausted.

 

“ _It won't be long now.”_ A small voice whispers in my ear. I look at the Mewman girl holding my hand and hope my eyes reflect the gratitude I feel. These ghosts, at least, won't leave me alone.

 

Not like Mother did.

 

–

At night, I can feel myself slipping.

 

At least, I think it's night. The noises from Outside are stilled, and my eyelids grow heavy with sleep.

 

When I succumb, I get strange dreams.

 

A boy with black hair and cruel green eyes grins at me, resting on a throne in a nightmarish palace.

By his throne is a girl who looks kind of like my sister. She stares at me, and in her teal eyes I see volumes of sorrow, a silent hello and goodbye.

 

The ghost children float in circles around me.

 

“Is there no way to save this child?” Whispers the mewman girl, all six of her hands curled into fists. “To return them to their true family?”

 

“We tried.” Whispers the demon ghost, voice rough and mournful and angry. “We _tried.”_

 

–

 

Voices from Outside wake me.

 

“I _can't,_ you _know_ how that magic affects me. It's too dangerous.”

 

“Nova, _please?”_ The voice is oddly familiar, bringing a small measure of comfort. “I wouldn't ask if I didn't think it could help.”

  
There's a long silence.

 

“Imagine if this was Cecelia missing instead.” The voice whispers, pleading.

 

The girl sighs, speaking wearily.

 

“...Fine.”

 

After another moment, her voice raises in the words of a ritual.

 

“ _I summon the All-Seeing Eye to tear a hole into the sky. Reveal to me that which is hidden....”_

 

She finishes the spell, and suddenly I can _see_ them.

 

The wall thins out, turns to glass underneath my palms, and they're there. A girl with marks on her face, a wand in her hand that looks like an eye. And _him-_ the one I loved, the one who hated me. Both of them have glowing spheres in their chests.

 

Apparently they can see me too, because they gasp in horror.

 

I must look a mess. I've been in this room (this _tomb_ ) for what must be years. My hair is longer, curling around my jaw, matted all over. My skin is covered in dirt and dried blood.

 

And I have buttons instead of eyes.

 

I press my palms harder against the glass, yearning for a moment of contact with these familiar strangers, just to touch someone's hand again.

 

My hands slip through my prison and I give a short screech, tumbling backwards off the bed before looking at them. The skin is blistered and irritated.

 

I carefully climb back onto the bed. It seems to take an age, and when I do the boy is gone. The girl holds the wand still,a tear running down her face and dropping onto its surface.

 

“Kid, what have you been through?” She asks me.

 

I press my palms against the glass again, careful not to push too hard and inflict the same pain as before. Though she speaks to me, I can't speak back. My mouth won't form words any longer.

 


	12. Chapter 12

 

The boy returns a short time later, and I see my family in front of me.

 

My brother, tears welling up in his eyes as he takes in my appearance. My oldest sister, face frozen with shock, her third eye darting back and forth. My older sister, her spirals draining from grey to black, holding the hand of a pixie. My younger sister looks at me and her face hardens.

 

There are two kids I don't recognize. A girl with mismatched eyes and grayish skin who looks somewhere around my age, and a boy who looks the same age as my eldest sister.

 

Then my brother is pressing his palms against the glass, on the opposite side of mine, saying something over and over again. He pushes on the glass, trying to get to me, and his hands sink through, catching my wrists; the warmth of them shocks me.

 

I don't know why he didn't just visit me like normal.

 

He tries to pull my hands forwards but as soon as my fingertips exit the glass I feel that searing pain and jerk back, holding my hands close to my chest. An odd keening noise echoes around the room, and it takes a moment for me to realize I'm the one making it.

 

“The fuck are you doing!?” A voice demands. I turn around slowly to see my brother, and raise my eyebrows in confusion.

 

Then I realize- the two don't look exactly the same. My brother in the room with me has buttons like me, and the one on the other side of the glass has eyes.

 

The brother in the room with me sits down on the bed and I hear cries of outrage from behind the glass when I shrink back against him.

 

My oldest sister is yelling something, her eyes glowing, and it takes a moment to understand her.

 

“What the _fuck_ are you? Why do you look like him? And what the ever-loving _hell_ is Ni-”

 

My brother stares at her, raising a hand. She falls silent, fuming.

 

“ He doesn't remember any of you.” My brother says. “He knows a few of you are his siblings- but he doesn't remember Trixie or... your name is Louis, right?”

 

The girl with the mismatched eyes starts, hands flying rapidly in some sort of language.

 

My brother just stares at her, until the unrecognized boy speaks up.

 

“How did you know us?”

 

My brother smiles. It's bitter and sarcastic.

 

“Mother has eyes on the Outside. Rats. And a doll. It's how she draws the victims in.”

 

I can't focus on the faces anymore, so I don't. Even though my eyelids are sewn open, somehow my vision blanks out and I slump against the wall, too tired to keep track of things.

 

“He doesn't have much time left.” My brother says, his voice steady. “If you want to bring him home alive, you're going to have to come and rescue him.”

 

“But where's the entrance??” I hear my sister demand, and then a gasp from the boy.

 

“He told me- Nico told me the day he vanished, I can get you there.”

 

“And I can open the pathway.” My brother says. The bed shifts, and I know he's standing again. “But you're going to have to tell your parents about this. And... all nine of you are going to have to do this. It's not going to be easy- Mother keeps a tight guard on her children.”

 

“Anything else we need to know?” I can recognize it as the voice of my younger sister.

 

“Yes. Mother took his soul. If you try to take him back without getting the soul, it will kill him.”

 

More yelling, and then the girl's voice.   
  


“Guys, I can't hold the spell any-”

 

Silence once again.

 

My brother leaves, and I can't help but think I wish I was already dead.

–

The beldam's many spies were stretched thin, but she saw everything.

 

She could see the child trapped behind the mirror, watching as their life force ebbed away moment after moment.

 

This child had been more stubborn than her other victims- it had taken two and a half months to get them where they were now, near death, not remembering anything.

 

But oh, breaking them had been so fun.

 

She could see the child's family getting ready- all of them, casting various spells, picking weapons, some of them putting on armor.

 

She watched as one of the girls kissed the pixie on the cheek, her spirals glowing blue as she picked up a book, paging through it.

 

The child's true mother, though, was what captured the Beldam's attention the most. She stormed into the master bedroom, pushing her hair up into a ponytail and throwing open a chest that the beldam could see contained armor.

 

There was purpose in each of her movements, but also rage.

 

“Marco?” Said another voice, and the Beldam caught view of the child's father. “How are-”

 

The Queen cut him off before he could finish his sentence.

 

“I'm _livid,_ Tom.” She said. “For almost three months I've been combing every dimension, hoping Nico would turn up, and it turns out he was kidnapped by an entire group of lookalikes?”

 

Her voice broke then, tears welling up in her eyes as she turned to face her husband.

 

“He must have been so scared for so long. And now... Now he's _dying._ That's my _baby,_ and I'm so scared we won't make it in time.”

 

For a moment, as the husband stepped towards the mother, the beldam considered killing Nico, _just_ to watch the family fall apart. But no. She could drag his life out for another week or two, and then she would feast on his soul.

 

As the family and the boy Nico loved met together in the hallway, the beldam smiled.

 

She _could_ kill Nico now, but she had a better idea.

 

As she concentrated on the landscape of her reality, the Underworld's castle that the royals were so used to twisted, shifting to become a labyrinth.

 

A hunt. She'd hide the child's soul with one of her creations, and the real people would face off against horrors.

 

Maybe she'd be able to gain all of their souls, instead.

 


	13. Chapter 13

The small group of people walking through the halls were oddly silent, but it was obvious that they were focused in their goal, and each of them were ready to fight.

 

Venus pushed open the doors silently,peering in each one to see if it fit the description given to him by Nico nearly three months before. Each time he opened a door, the people behind him tensed.

 

The group went through two hallways before Venus pushed open a door, expecting it to be another wrong one again-

 

and he jumped back, yelping. When the rest of the group saw what Venus had seen, there was a collective gasp.

 

Lined up in front of the doors were dolls. Little rag dolls, each modeled to look like a member in the party. Jace's spirals were done in pink yarn, Stel's had pink buttons, Milo's doll was holding a small book.

 

And perched on the bed was the doll Nico had carried around- but it looked different now. Its hair was longer, strands of yarn purposely knotted together. The button eyes were black, and the doll looked like it had been rolled in dirt. Its face was stretched in a smile that looked more like a grimace.

 

Stel's eyes hardened and she marched up to the bed, collecting Nico's doll and collecting the dolls symbolizing the party before tossing them in the roaring fireplace.

 

Annie walked over to the doors, her nails _skritching_ softly on the wood as she pulled it open.

 

The tunnel unrolled in front of them, blue and purple. At the far end, a door swung open and there waited the fake Milo, waving them down the tunnel.

 

Annie cast a glance back at Marco for permission, and when Marco nodded Annie dropped down into the tunnel, bouncing lightly as it tossed her back and forth.

 

Venus went through next, a bag full of various chemical compounds he thought would be useful on his back.

 

The others went in quick succession. Trixie, Stel, Milo, Jace, Louis, Tom, and Marco. Once the button-eyed Milo was sure that everyone was through he slammed the door shut, turning the lock.

 

“You don't have much time.” The fake Milo informed them. “If I were you, I'd go to Nico first. The nearest mirror is where you'll find him- let Milo in first. Nico will trust him the most, because I'm the only one of us who visited him.”

 

“Why?” Asked Milo curiously, tilting his head. “Why did you visit him and try to help him?”

 

The Other Milo smiled bitterly, heading towards one of the hallways. When he reached its entrance he paused to answer.

 

“I've been Mother's toy the longest. I've played a thousand different roles to snare different children. I got sick of it eventually, so I try to make it a little easier on those Mother catches. And this time... you might actually be able to save him.”

 

With this the Other Milo walked down the hall, quickly vanishing from view.

 

It was clear they were on their own now.

 

* * *

 

 

The ghost children were floating around me again.

 

“Help is coming for you, child.”

 

I knew. I had heard the voices of those people who looked so much like my family- and yet seemed to care so much more. But I was too tired.

 

“You can make it out of this alive.”

 

I can't reply back, and soon the ghost children's whispers fade to meaningless chittering, then to silence. I'm alone once more.

 

I feel as if I'm barely hanging on. At any moment it would be so easy to let go, drift back to sleep and never wake up. I'd still feel this awful _cold,_ but at least I wouldn't be alone.

 

The way through my room bursts open, and for the first time in ( _how long? Years, centuries?)_ I see light again.

 

And the person who looks like my brother, but with eyes, flings himself into the room. He's yelling- no words, just a high-pitched _scream_ and he's holding what looks to be some kind of iron pipe. When he sees me, he stops screaming and rushes forwards, flinging his arms around me.

 

After a moment he withdraws, his eyes filling with tears as he surveys my condition. He reaches forwards and pulls on the threads that keep my mouth in that fixed smile. They come loose, but only after making me bleed once more.

 

My face relaxes for the first time in I don't even know how long, and then the rest of the people I saw in that Other place come flooding in.

 

The girl with the two tone eyes, her fingers glowing; my oldest sister and the boy her age; my older sister, spirals glowing; and my youngest sister, her nails making loud noises on the damp stone.

 

They surround me, a group hug, their voices mixing together.

 

“Are you okay?” One of them asks, and I'm trying to remember how to speak now that I can, to tell them no, I'm not okay.

 

And then _she_ enters, and I lose all sense of reason.

 

I pitch myself backwards off the bed and _scream,_ pressing myself back against the cold stone. It takes me a minute to realize I'm actually forming words.

 

“ _Don't let her hurt me!!”_

 

One of the people who looks like my sister reaches out for me and I scramble away from her, my panic giving me more strength than I thought I had. My brother watches me, reaching out, but I wrap my arms around my thin waist, squeezing tight.

 

Then _she_ speaks and I fall silent, watching her face; Mother's word is law. It surprises me to see that she looks as though she's on the verge of tears.

 

“What did they _do_ to you here?”

 

I press my back against the wall again harder, as though I could sink in to the stone and be safe there.

 

“Why are you asking?” I whispered. “I gave my eyes to you, _you_ sewed my mouth open and threw me in here because I was bad, you stopped visiting and bringing food a long time ago.” And then fear overtakes me again. “I've been good, I promise, _please_ don't hurt me again, Mother!”

 

Tears spill down Mother's face and I cringe again ( _I made her cry, I was bad, she's going to hurt me and leave me here again-!)_ , but my brother reaches out his hand. He's crying too- and I notice that the people who look like my family are all either crying or looking at me with shock. My youngest sister looks _furious,_ as though she could burn the world down.

 

But the one who looks like my brother is reaching for me. My brother has been here for me, so I can trust this lookalike. I reach out and put my palm in his, and he pulls me to my feet. When I'm standing, he smiles shakily.

 

“Let's get you the hell out of here.”

 


	14. Chapter 14

The instant I emerge from the room behind the mirror, my world is flooded with light. Its overwhelming, disorienting, _painful_ to get used to.

 

Even as small tears trickle down my face, I can't help but feel glad for it. I never thought I would step foot out of that cold stone room again.

 

“Nico?” Says one of my family, and I look over. It's Mother, and again I feel that sharp stab of terror well up. “Do you know where to go?”

 

I look around as we reach the hallway, but things have changed somehow. Its different than before I went into the room.

 

So I shake my head, and mother frowns with confusion.

 

And then I feel it.

 

A gentle sort of brushing in my mind, the slightest hint I'm not alone in my own head.

 

A moment later, the feeling is gone.

 

The girl with the mismatched eyes clears her throat for attention. When people look over at her, she makes a rapid series of hand gestures.

 

Somehow- I don't know how, but somehow, I understand what they mean.

 

_They think that the Other Mother changed it._ The girl's hands say.  _They don't know where anything is anymore._

 

Somehow this girl read my mind. But I nod, showing that she's telling the truth.

 

My oldest sister scowls, the motion causing both a feeling of relief and a swell of fear at once.

 

“Then how do we know where to go?”

 

I shrug, words too hard to form, and the other girl makes those odd gestures. Once more, I still know what she means.

 

_Let's just pick a direction. We have to find their soul anyways._

 

Mother nods, edging her way to the front of the group, which settles the matter. The others- my _family-_ form a group around me wordlessly, seamlessly working together. In front of me is my mother, my father, and my three-eyed sister; to the sides of me are my brother, the boy with the odd marks on his face and my baby sister; in the back is the silent girl, my sister with the spirals, and the three-eyed boy.

 

We edge out into the left hallway, my mother holding a sword in her hand. Theres something in mother's expression that hints that she's ready for whatever comes at her, and I feel glad that she's supposedly on my side.

 

As we walk, I remind myself that I don't _know_ if she is. This could be another one of my button-eyed mother's games.

 

For all I know, we'll reach the end of this 'journey' only to have Mother punish me for leaving the room against her orders.

 

But if there's even the slightest chance of this working, of me being able to live and be free again, then I have to risk it.

 

And if it _is_ a trap, maybe mother will be so angry with me she just kills me immediately. I can always hope.

 

It seems a rather gruesome thing to hope for, but that's what my life has become.

 

I'm so lost in my thoughts I don't notice people trying to get my attention until someone lays a hand on my shoulder. I almost jump out of my skin then.

 

It's _him-_ the boy I care about so desperately, the one who hates me- and he's looking at me in a way I can't describe.

 

Only that it definitely doesn't seem like hate, but it's _still_ an intense emotion.

 

“Nico,” he says, voice cautious (I remind myself that Nico appears to be my name), “What did they do to you while you were here? Before... before you left, you thought they were so nice.”

 

I work my mouth silently, mouthing out the words I'm about to say before I manage to link sound and movement together.

 

“I don't remember before.” My voice is thin, cracking and disappearing often, but I feel as though he can still understand me. “Nothing before I came here. And _why_ are you being so nice to me?”

 

The boy blinks, his face making an expression I can't place before I realize he must be startled. That's the word for it.

 

“You _know._ “ He says. “I've never told you. I never needed to tell you- Nico, you know why.”

 

I shake my head, the ability to speak almost slipping away from me. Only almost.

 

“You hate me. Why are you being nice now?”

 

A somewhat horrified expression takes over his face.

 

“Nico, I don't hate you!”

 

“Yes, you do.” My voice sounds flat, denying the pain I remember. I root around in my damaged mind, trying to dig up the exact phrasing used. “I'm... an annoyance. A diversion between experiments. That;s all.”

 

The boy at my side opens his mouth to speak, but Mother raises a hand up, bringing the party to a stop. I wonder why, but then, standing on tiptoe, I see the doors of my sibling's practice hall. It feels like it's been years since the first time I was here- since my brother stabbed my big sister- and for all I know, it might have been even longer than that.

 

As she pushes the doors open, the lights on the stage come on.

 

My button-eyed sister stands in her usual crop top and jeans, a sword in each hand. Behind her is a large door, and I feel in my bones that where we need to go is beyond that door.

 

She grins, sharp as a predator, tipping her head to one side and observing me.

 

“Leaving so soon, little brother?” She asks. Her voice is like the sister in front of me and yet not; I hear my “real” sister suck in an outraged breath. “We have _plans_ for you. Don't you realize that mother is having such _fun?”_

 

Her voice lowers into a growl on the final word, and a shiver of fear slides down my spine.

 

My sister jumps off the stage, striding along the path to us. Her voice echoes the auditorium as she speaks, the sound nearly scraping inside my head.

 

“Why do you want to run away from us?” She asks. An almost-casual-but-not-quite flick of her wrist brings one of her swords into a ready position. “Are you so scared that we don't want you? The way you were with your other family?”

 

Someone gasps. I don't know who. My attention is all on the horrible sister in front of me.

 

“Or is it that, deep down, you don't feel like you belong anywhere?” Her voice raises at the end, almost flinging the question at me. “You never have, not since your father gave you up as a toddler.”

 

_Gave me up? Father is right there._

 

I blink, confused by her words, even though I have a faint feeling that she might be right.

 

My sister stops, about ten feet away, her grin spreading.

 

“Estella!” She says, her voice sharp. The “real” sister in front of me with three eyes scowls, taking a step forwards.

 

“It's time for you to get your shit straight.”

 

The button-eyed sister throws one of the swords at 'Estella', the atmosphere in the room crackling.

 

Mother attempts to get in between them, to fight in her daughter's place, but the theater shifts suddenly, the sisters raising above us as the stage expanded. Flames appeared, blocking any possible way onto the stage.

 

The fight begins before I can even realize that it has. One sister's sword blurs out in a clear attempt to slice open; the other sister's sword raises in an equally fast block.

 

“First off,” says the sister with the buttons. “This whole 'punk-rock' act of yours? The hell is up with that?”

 

The other sister scowls, sword lashing out and slicing open her doppelganger's arm. Blood begins to pour out of the wound- no. Sand and sawdust, that's what it is.

 

The wounded one leaps back, looking only mildly annoyed.

 

“Second. What the fuck kind of sister _are_ you?”

 

The sister right in front of me lashes out, but is easily blocked this time.

 

“Seriously,” the sister with the buttons continued. “You took off on Jace's _birthday,_ for reasons you _still_ haven't told your family. You only come home when it looks like she's about to be fucking murdered. And then you don't _realize_ what was happening to Nico?”

 

My sister (real or fake? How do I know?) is perfectly still, her face having gone pale with the button-eyed sister's point.

 

“No wonder they took off for a world they knew for a _week.”_ Spits the button-eyed sister. “Not if your other siblings are just as bad.”

 

The sister with the buttons approaches the sister in front of me,

 

“Face it, Estella.” She said finally, her words biting. “You fail at most everything you attempt. You didn't save Jace, you didn't keep Nico from coming here, and you won't save th-”

 

The button-eyed sister was cut off when my other sister, the “real” one, slammed her sword straight through the other's chest.

 

My “real” sister's hands shook, and even without my memories, I suspected that the things the button girl had said would haunt her for a while.

 

She stared down at her doppelganger, then yanked the sword out, stepping over the button-eyed girl's corpse like it was trash. Something to turn up your nose at and avoid.

 

“One down.” Says someone in a quiet voice. “Only god knows how many more of us to go.”

 

My family walks around the dead girl, and they don't seem to notice I didn't follow them until they reach the door.

 

By that time, I'm by the button-sister's side.

 

“Nico!”

 

I look up for a moment, see my younger sister waving me forwards, then look back down at the body.

 

The glowing white core in the center of her chest seems to whisper to me, and an unidentifiable _need_ wells up in me- need to take the glowing thing, to carry it with me. It must be important.

 

I plunge my hand in the sister's sword wound, my fingers closing around some sort of ball.

 

The moment I pulled it out of her chest, the entire room lost its depth. The doorway we had entered through began to unravel, the thinnest gray threads remaining.

 

I got to my feet and joined my family, rushing through the door as the stage disappeared, the button-sister's corpse along with it.

 

“Why did you need to take- some sort of Greed Month ornament?” The three-eyed boy in front of me asks.

 

It takes me a moment to realize he means the glowing white thing.

 

I close my hands around it and don't reply, and soon enough they shrug it off.

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

The corridor we're in has smooth stone under my feet. It must be one of the living areas, I decide faintly.

 

I still don't have a clue where we're going, but _she_ takes charge again, to the front.

 

The spiraled-sister moves from the back of the group to the front, whispers something to my oldest sister. The oldest sister shrugs sharply; her shoulders hunching in slightly, a clear sign she doesn't want to talk about what just happened. My spiraled-sister accepts this with no more than a moment's hesitation before slinging her arm around the other girl. The girl doesn't push her away or stiffen; she just sighs and says something soft. I don't care to hear it- I'm too busy listening for mother or any of my other siblings.

 

The corridors twist and turn, seeming to never end. I wonder how long we've been marching, how long it's been since I escaped the mirror room. With the way time works, it could have been mere moments or long weeks since then.

 

And all the while, terror beats sharply at my chest. Any moment now, we could come face to face with _Her_ again.

 

Any moment now, I would lose my freedom again.

 

I wonder what might happen to the others, and almost immediately an onslaught of images floods my head, wondering if Mother somehow _knows_ what I'm thinking. In that moment, the images are so hyper-realistic I'm almost convinced that it already happened and I just haven't remembered yet.

 

 _Spiraled-girl, blood on her throat and her hands and_ _ **oh god why was there so much of it,**_ _-the little sister so small so still_ _ **why wasn't she moving mother please do something save her**_ _-_ _But no, the mother was there too, body bent at the wrong angle, mouth too wide, and someone help, the_ _ **beldamdidit, the beldam killed everyone just for trying to help-**_

 

“Nico? _Nico!?_ Nico, answer me!”

 

A low noise I can't recognize is hovering around the hallway, a low moan like someone is in terrible pain-

 

“Nico, _please!”_

 

My vision blinks back on, suddenly, the images in front of my mind disappearing all at once.

 

I take in a shuddering, shaky breath, and the noise in the hall stops.

 

My vision wavers in and out again, doing something strange- the monotone grays blur out, are replaced by brighter tones I can't recognize- and then it goes back to normal and I realize my brother is in front of me, waiting for an answer.

 

I can't smile. I don't know when I'll be able to smile again, not after the horrible mockery of it created by Mother.

 

I swallow, practice the sounds in my head, then speak.

 

My voice is still thin, still cracking in places, but its audible.

 

“Sorry. I couldn't... I couldn't see.” The lie swims to the surface, but I batter it back- I don't want to think of girls being too still, of blood smeared on hands or of bones twisted unrepairably. “I'm okay now.”

 

I'm met with a skeptical look from Mother.

 

_You were never able to fool her and you know it. Don't be so ridiculous._ A quiet voice in the back of my mind chides.

 

The one who I care about, with the strange cheek marks, pushes forward. He extends one hand to me, his face concerned.

 

After testing the strength in my legs and determining I can't stand on my own, I allow the boy to pull me up.

 

He lifts me up easily, misjudging my weight, and I collide into him.

 

His arms are around me before I can even think about it, straightening me out and making sure I'm standing steady before we move again.

 

His hands, when he was helping me up, were so warm. I pressed my own hands to my chest, over my heart, as though I could lock the remaining warmth there and keep it with me for forever.

 

When we turn the next corner and see the firelight dancing on the walls, the warmth in my hands and the small reassurance I had felt drained away almost instantly, replaced by only fear.

 

At my side, my brother looked at me, nervous. It was only then I realized that I was shaking, the slightest tremors visible in my hands and shoulders.

 

“Who is it?” He asked, the rest of the group waiting for an answer.

 

The firelight on the walls brightened suddenly, a spurt of flame flickering out of the door.

 

When I spoke, my voice was quiet, and would have been missed among the crackle of the flames if they weren't listening for me.

 

“It's father.” I said, my mouth suddenly feeling dry. “Which means that... Mother is close. Probably nearby. Father doesn't like to be away from her.”

 

Father and Mother in front of me exchange a look, an entire silent conversation in their movements.

 

Suddenly Mother drops back and my siblings along with her, her arm spreading out in front of me. Shielding me. Protecting me.

 

Father's hands light up, his own flames flickering, but somehow more _real,_ more solid. You could at least feel the heat coming off of them.

 

We entered the room as a group, where my button-eyed father awaited. He was playing with the flames. Coaxing them into more and more, making them take wild shapes.

 

The instant I stepped foot in the room, he whirled around on his heel.

 

“There you are, kiddo.” He said, his voice lightly scolding- as though I had been lost, wandered off on my own. Not trapped, locked in a room with the key thrown away. “I was wondering when you were going to show up.”

 

I was completely uncertain what to say. I settled for staring at him, my expression carefully wiped clean of any emotion.

 

“You're giving your mother such a hard time.” He said, shaking his head. “Wouldn't it be easier if you had just stayed with us?”

 

The faintest memory appears, if you could call it that. It's more like a video, watched once but long forgotten.

 

“ _Maybe it would be easier if, oh, I don't know- you let me get the hell away from here?”_

 

_At this, the Other Mother straightened and I felt another wave of fear go down my spine. When she spoke again, her voice was heavy._

 

“ _You're breaking my heart.” She said, waving a hand in my direction. Other Dad pinned my arms behind my back, and I wondered for a moment what was going to happen._

 

I flinched backwards, away from Father (“ _not your real father, he's a fake, don't trust him,”_ my mind hissed, and I didn't know if I could believe it) and my “real” father ( _dad? What did I call him?)_ stepped in front of me, blocking my view.

 

“Leave Nico alone.” He said, a growl underlying his words. Unlike my button-sister, though, this growl soothed me. I thought that I must have heard that before somewhere, those same protective undertones.

 

“And why should I do that?” Demanded button-father, the flames flaring up behind him. “He's my son. I know what's best for him.”

 

My father barked out a laugh, bitter and sharp and sarcastic.

 

“Like hell you do.” He said. “You had him locked up.”

 

I hear cloth rustling, wonder if my fake-father shrugged.

 

“He was quieter that way.” Countered fake-father. “Besides, what would you rather I did? Sew his lips shut entirely? Crush his throat? He'd be silent then.”

 

Father's fists clench then, the grayish tones turning white along his knuckles.

 

“Or!” Says fake-father, and in my mind I imagine he's raising one finger. “Or I could pull the same stunt his birth dad did. Get rid of him entirely. You wouldn't have known a thing. Not until you found his body somewhere, I suppose, mauled and disfigu-”

 

Father launches himself at fake-father, with a roar and a burst of flames, white-hot and singing my skin.

 

They're evenly matched- they're the same person, after all. Father and the copy of him exchange punches, balls of flame, blocks, so fast it exhausts me.

 

I almost don't realize that Mother is no longer in front of me, instead edging towards the fight.

 

Almost.

 

She doesn't move but for her eyes, darting back and forth and trying to find an opening. She gets one when Father manages to seize the fake's wrists for a moment.

 

“Marco, _now!”_ He roared, and Mother darted forwards, her fist flying out.

 

It punched through the copy's chest, her hand closing around something and removing it.

 

The room, like the auditorium, lost its depth, pieces of it unraveling.

 

Closed in Mother's fist is another one of those glowing lights. I take it when she offers it to me, and slip it in my pocket.

 

 

 


End file.
